AUBURN - An electrical short sparked a lunch-time fire Friday in the rear of the Grant Avenue Wendy's just as workers were preparing for the onslaught of hamburger-hungry patrons.
Jason Rearick / The Citizen
Auburn firefighters clear the smoke-filled Wendy's restaurant after a fire gutted the building late Friday morning.
Assistant manager John Thomas was behind the registers with two other employees when he turned to walk toward the storage area and noticed smoke pouring out of a doorway.
"I didn't see any flames," Thomas said. "We just got out of there."
Auburn Fire Department received the call shortly after 11:15 a.m., and assistant chief James Lattimore said his crews could see smoke rising into the sky as soon as their engines raced to the top of the Arterial.
"It was everywhere," Lattimore said.
No one was in the building by the time the trucks arrived.
Lattimore had 15 firefighters working on the structure, opening holes in the awning and roof and pouring water on the blaze. Firefighters propped open doors to allow the smoke to escape, and industrial-sized fans were placed in front of the doors on either side of the restaurant to push the smoke to the rear.
Lattimore said his greatest concern at the time of the fire was the possibility of the roof caving in
Firefighters pulled deformed plastic crates, melted metal shelves and stacks of burnt hamburger rolls out the back door of the building, close to where Thomas said paper products were kept. Soot coated the glass on the sunroom dining area and firefighters' helmet visors.
Outside, Wendy's employees who had left their jackets inside escaped the brutal breeze and transient snow squalls by huddling together in cars and smoking cigarettes. Most were too distraught to talk. Two female employees who arrived for a later shift were crying as they approached their fellow workers, asking if everyone was OK.
Manager Judy Shutter said her 32 part-time employees and three other full-timers are a close-knit group of workers.
"To run an efficient fast-food operation, everyone has to get along with everyone," said Shutter, a Wendy's manager of 17 years. "It's like a family here."
Lattimore, who said his crews had to deal with frozen water lines, rotated in 10 fresh firefighters later in the day to finish putting out the flames and give the first responders a break from the cold. Assistant Chief Robert Sloan said fire investigators determined that the fire was started by an electrical short in the back of the building.
Shutter said electricians were at the restaurant earlier in the day to install "stadium" lighting for the rear of the building.
Franchisee Jeff Coghlan owns five Wendy's in Central New York. He said he's never had a fire in any of his stores. By late Friday night, he was at the scene with contractors determining if the structure was salvageable. He said re-opening the restaurant was not on his mind at this point.
"The only thing I care about right now is that no one was hurt," Coghlan said.
Staff writer Benning W. De La Mater can be reached at 253-5311 ext. 237 or ben.delamater@lee.net
"I didn't see any flames," Thomas said. "We just got out of there."
Auburn Fire Department received the call shortly after 11:15 a.m., and assistant chief James Lattimore said his crews could see smoke rising into the sky as soon as their engines raced to the top of the Arterial.
"It was everywhere," Lattimore said.
No one was in the building by the time the trucks arrived.
Lattimore had 15 firefighters working on the structure, opening holes in the awning and roof and pouring water on the blaze. Firefighters propped open doors to allow the smoke to escape, and industrial-sized fans were placed in front of the doors on either side of the restaurant to push the smoke to the rear.
Lattimore said his greatest concern at the time of the fire was the possibility of the roof caving in
Firefighters pulled deformed plastic crates, melted metal shelves and stacks of burnt hamburger rolls out the back door of the building, close to where Thomas said paper products were kept. Soot coated the glass on the sunroom dining area and firefighters' helmet visors.
Outside, Wendy's employees who had left their jackets inside escaped the brutal breeze and transient snow squalls by huddling together in cars and smoking cigarettes. Most were too distraught to talk. Two female employees who arrived for a later shift were crying as they approached their fellow workers, asking if everyone was OK.
Manager Judy Shutter said her 32 part-time employees and three other full-timers are a close-knit group of workers.
"To run an efficient fast-food operation, everyone has to get along with everyone," said Shutter, a Wendy's manager of 17 years. "It's like a family here."
Lattimore, who said his crews had to deal with frozen water lines, rotated in 10 fresh firefighters later in the day to finish putting out the flames and give the first responders a break from the cold. Assistant Chief Robert Sloan said fire investigators determined that the fire was started by an electrical short in the back of the building.
Shutter said electricians were at the restaurant earlier in the day to install "stadium" lighting for the rear of the building.
Franchisee Jeff Coghlan owns five Wendy's in Central New York. He said he's never had a fire in any of his stores. By late Friday night, he was at the scene with contractors determining if the structure was salvageable. He said re-opening the restaurant was not on his mind at this point.
"The only thing I care about right now is that no one was hurt," Coghlan said.
Staff writer Benning W. De La Mater can be reached at 253-5311 ext. 237 or ben.delamater@lee.net
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